Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
As fall blusters in, theaters are offering a lineup of hopeful blockbusters ranging from distinctive little indies to epic scale films, magic and adventure to film noir and horror. A great way to take a break from whatever it was you were supposed to have done last week, at the moment the selection of films is quite wide so chances are you can find something that you wouldn’t mind seeing.
The closest theater to Swat is the AMC Marple 10, a drive that’s less than 15 minutes down Sproul Road. The AMC Marple 10 has eleven theaters and generally carries the most major motion picture productions. If you don’t know anyone you can bum a ride from, you can go with a couple of friends and split the cost of a cab. Alternately, you can take the free Swarthmore shuttle into Philly on Friday or Saturday night (just sign up through the link on the student portal) and see a movie at the Ritz at the Bourse, a haven for smaller films (students get in for a little under seven dollars on every day except Saturday.) The shuttle will drop you off in front of the theater with about five or ten minutes to spare.
In terms of what’s showing, the Marple has a number of popular films out including the college comedy “Accepted,” horror remake “The Wicker Man,” and “Invincible,” based on Philadelphia’s own Vince Papale of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bourse is showing the Brazilian film “Casa de Areia” (The House of Sand), following a family trying to survive in the deserts of Northern Brazil, and “The Illusionist,” set in early twentieth century Vienna, in which the Crown Prince and an able magician cross paths in a tale entangled by magic and secrets.